May 31st, 2005

Well, the long weekend has passed and the summer season is here.  The fishermen caught many fish this past week.  This has been an excellent spring for fishing.  Although everyone would like to see better weather, it has really not been all that bad up here.  We have had some rain but all in all it has been pretty good.  (Of course the days it rains is always the day that I want to work outside)  We have a large assortment of birds around again this year.  One that I have not seen much of in the past that has showed up this spring is the Rose Breasted Grosbeak.   It is a very pretty bird,  it is black, white and red.  The Pileated Woodpecker is around as they have a nest in one of the trees.  The Hummingbirds let me know when they arrived by flying around my head, dive bombing me.  It was time to put out the feeder for them and they made sure that I knew that.  We have so many birds that I cannot name them all.  (My wife on the other hand has them all down pat)  My son went out "collecting" the other day.  He has a Cray-fish, frog, and a bunch of minnows in his collection.  I have to tell you the story about his fishing trip on Monday.  It was misting a bit and he wanted to go fishing.  (He insists that the best time to fish is in the rain)  I told him that was fine, he could take the motor boat out and go fishing.  He was out for a long time, and it was time for him to head back down state for the week.  I went down to the shore of the pond and called him in.  When he got to the dock he told me to wait for him to land the boat.  I waited and helped him pull in the boat.  I noticed that he had lots of water in it and I knew that it was not raining all that hard.  I asked if he had caught any fish.  He said that he had caught one fish twice.  I asked how he knew that and he said that because it had the same clipped fin.  (now there were 1100 with the same clipped fin put in last fall)  I asked if he kept it and he said that it was in the back of the boat alive.  (that is where all of the water came from, he filled the boat to keep the fish alive)  He did not have a measure and wanted to make sure that it was a legal fish before killing it.  It was about 10 inches long and I told him that it was legal and asked if he was going to keep it or let it go.  He allowed that he wanted it and got in the boat to catch it in the water.  He had it in his hands a couple of times, but live Trout are very slippery.  It kept squirting out of his hands.  Finally he caught it for the last time.  This time it squirted out of his hands into the pond.  He jumped out of the boat and into the pond.  (I thought, if he catches it in the pond he is quicker than I know he is, and he is very very quick at catching things)  Well, the fish had lots of room to escape and it did.  I laughed and told him that was "ok" it would be bigger next weekend.   He was just a bit upset as he really wanted that fish.  (wait until that happens to him with a fish that is measured in pounds instead of inches)  Now if figure that I will have a time getting him to help me with work around here, he will be fishing all of the time.  When I went down to the pond to call him in, there was one of the Loons swimming around at the dock.  If I had my camera with me I would have gotten a very nice picture as it was only a few feet from me!  Just my luck! The weather is supposed to get better this week and the temps are supposed to go up into the 80's by the end of the week.  I am sure that when it does I will wish for the cool temps once again.  That will be the end of the fiddleheads as they will open very quick with the higher temperatures.  I managed to find time to go pick a few for Maureen and myself this past weekend.  They are very tasty and we look forward to them each spring. 
GT

May 19th, 2005

The pond is absolutely beautiful this morning.  The sun is shining and the fog rising off the water is all lit up.  Just one of those mornings that makes one appreciate being here at Frost Pond.  Now along about 1:47am I was wondering if perhaps, just maybe, I might get more sleep if I was in town someplace.  You see, a couple of owls decided that just outside of my bedroom window was the best place to woo one another.  I have never in all of my years in the woods heard such a carrying on by owls!  They must have carried on for half an hour.  One of the owls was hooting a hoot that I cannot explain.  (I was thinking that I would have a hard time to remember how it went when I got up this morning)  At least one of the owls was a Barred Owl, and I have no idea what the other one was.  Such a commotion at that time of the day is not necessary, no matter how much in love they are!  (I can only suspect the hooting was about love as I never did learn the "hoot" language all that well)  Even though I was sound asleep and woken up, I still had to smile to myself about the noise.  It just goes to show how little impact we are making up here in the woods. The animals do not leave the area, the stay and entertain us.  Then we have the 4:45am wakeup call of the sea gulls.  Now I have no idea where these birds went to school, but we are located a number of miles from the sea!  And I am talking about 100 miles, not 10!  They were on the lawn all squawking to each other.  They have to be more considerate of my much needed rest, why it just "ain't" nice to make that much noise in the morning.  They show up every year for a couple of weeks and then they go back to the ocean, or at least they go a mile and a half over to Chesuncook.  (They will be gone soon as I tore a number of pages off the calendar to speed things up)  They will return latter in the summer for a couple of days when the Green Drakes hatch on the pond, but these are just day trips.  We have a pretty good hatch and the fishing is great fun at that time.  Finally at 5:00am the Mourning Dove started cooing out side.  I figured that as that was a very pleasing sound and not obnoxious, I would arise and start my day with a smile on my face.  I talked with a couple of fishermen yesterday who had been fishing the river.  They had caught a couple of nice salmon.  One of the fish went over 5 lbs.  (I bet they went to bed with a smile on their faces) I knew that the deep gates being open would improve the fishing in the river this year.  They are coming over to fish Frost Pond today. (they want to catch a fish like the one that I caught, measured in paddle blade lengths)  Some of our guests are heading out this morning.  They have been coming here for over 40 years.  We so enjoy having folks like this come to the camps.  They tell us about the way things used to be and all of that old type of information. Besides, they are just nice folks to boot! Not to mention that one of the ladies brought me a bag of Whoopee Pies! Not the best thing for the waist line but sure pleasing to the palate!  These are lifesaving Whoopee Pies.  I told Joyce that they saved me from starving to death when I was out working until midnight the other night, without any supper.

I would also like to take the time to thank all of the men and women who are in the military, serving our country.  May God Bless You, and may you return home safely.  Thank You
GT

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May 16th, 2005

The fish are biting!  Our guests have been catching and releasing large numbers of fish this past week.  A few are being eaten by those who like the taste of fresh caught Trout.  They go out for a couple of hours and come back with tales of the big ones that got away and some that did not get away.  I have not had the chance to get out for the past few days, I have been getting the cabins ready for the incoming guests.  In the spring there is always much to take care of to get ready for the season.  Shadow (my wife's and son's dog, who I seem to have inherited) has the job of barking at whatever is floating on the water.  It could be ducks, loons, or just a fishing bobber!  For some reason she does not bark at boats, although seagulls, ravens, eagles or anything else that flies, including helicopters, gets her cranked up.  I sat down at the dock fishing with a bobber one night and she just kept barking at the thing.  I would bring it in close and let her sniff it, but the next time I cast out and she saw it move, she would start in barking at it.  I hope that eventually she figures out that bobbers will not hurt her and that no matter how hard she tries, she cannot catch things that are flying overhead.  I saw a red squirrel crossing the road today.  It had a cone in it's mouth that was almost as large as the squirrel!  As I got closer it dropped the cone and went a couple of feet, turned around and grabbed the cone and headed to calmer places to eat it.  I guess the sight of a full size pickup headed toward it caused it to loose it's concentration for a moment.  The grass is starting to get green and the leaves are forming on most of the trees.  The frogs are peeping on a regular basis now and the season of new life is once again upon us.
GT


May 11th, 2005

The fine weather has arrived! We have had temps up in the 70's for the past couple of days and more predicted for today. The fishing has been good. I took Jedidiah out fishing this past weekend and he was very happy about the fish that he caught. Since we moved to Frost Pond he has gone out to catch Mom a fish for Mother's Day. (It sometimes is before or after Mother's Day when he gets her one) Each time he has caught her one it has been raining or misting and this year it was also. We usually stand on the dock and he catches one from there. This year we went out in the boat to try our luck. He told me "Dad, I have not caught a fish for the past 2 years (for Mother's Day) and I really want to catch one this year" So late Saturday we went out to see if we could change the situation. As luck would have it he hooked a nice one. He was so excited, I thought that the fish was going to get away as he was cranking it in so fast! I finally managed to get the net under it and get it in the boat. He was very pleased with the results of that evening.  It was a nice 19" fish that probably went over 3 lbs.  (I really have to get a good fish scale) His second thought was, "Is this one as big as the one that you caught"? I told him that it was not, as Dad always catches the biggest fish.  (the truth of the matter is, he is usually the one that catches the biggest fish) I can tell that I will have to work hard to keep ahead of him on this fishing stuff. When we came in he proudly presented it to Mom. Before I could even get a picture of it he had it cleaned. He then wanted me to take his picture with the cleaned fish. (That is why there is not a picture on the web site, although I did take his picture with it) Our guests are having a real good time here at the pond. They are out fishing for the most part, but some hiking as well. I am betting the West Branch of the Penobscot will have some of the best fishing in years. They have once again closed the gates at Rip Dam and as soon as the water gets a chance to settle down the fish should start biting. Some of the trees actually have little leaves starting out! We may be a few weeks behind the lower part of Maine, but we do catch up fast. The best part of being behind is that the lawns do not have to be mowed as early up here!  The worst thing is we have to wait for the Fiddleheads to come up.  They are already getting them in the lower state. As soon as the moose start looking better I will post some pictures of them. They are way too homely to be on the Internet right now. I saw a number of them yesterday on my way to Greenville. Speaking of Greenville, the road out through there is a wee bit on the rough side. They have graded parts of it and that part is not too bad. Just remember if you are driving over fresh graded roads to slow down.  At this time we have 3 Loons on the pond.  I think that the 3rd is the chick from last year.  I am not sure that it will stay, but perhaps this one will find a mate and decide to live here as well.  The frogs have laid their eggs down at the "frog pond".  This is a vernal pool just down the road from camp.  Jed makes many trips down there to watch and catch frogs.  He has to be one of the best frog catchers that I have ever seen.  He can spot and catch them far better than I ever could!  He will go out in Frost Pond and wade around catching them for hours.  He puts them in a boat or bucket and then releases them later on.  Mom has only found one in the bath tub since we have lived here.  (I seem to remember a "rule" being made at that point)  How lucky this boy is to call Frost Pond, home! 
GT

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May 5th, 2005

Another fine day here at Frost Pond with a little warmer temperatures.  The sun cooperated part of the day and made it very nice up here.  Things are starting to dry out a bit and that is very helpful.  It makes it much easier to get work done if it is dry.  After a day of work I thought it was time for some relaxation.  I decided to go fishing for a bit.  Well now as luck would have it, the fish thought that I had worked hard and deserved some reward.  A friend of mine came along as he wanted to try his luck at fishing.  I went to a favorite spot of mine and managed to get one bite.  I had a fish on!  Now my friend says to me, "Hey, if that is a keeper I'll take it"  I do not take fish unless someone else wants it.  (The wife and son do eat a fish once in awhile)  I said, "Oh it is a keeper alright enough"  I suggested that he get the net as I was sure that I could not just "spiffeel" it into the boat.  When the fish finally got close he was beating the water to a froth with the net.  I mentioned that if he wanted the fish that he get it in the net.  I figured that between the two of us we would end up in the water with the fish before it was over.  As luck would have it the fish finally gave up and went in the net.  (I am not sure who was more surprised, the fish or my friend, I know that I was very surprised that it made it into the net)  The comment was then made that it was a "pretty nice fish" and that the only way it could have been better was if he had caught it.  What a way to end the day up here in the woods.  By the time we got home the stars were all out and the loons were calling, out on the pond.  I did take a couple of pictures which are below.
GT
                                         


From Dallas C.
I just wanted to say I really enjoyed reading your journal entries. I spent
a lot of time camping at Frost Pond as a kid with my parents (Andy & Rose C.) and it seeing the pictures and hearing the places brought a smile
to my face. When I was a child, we found Frost Pond by accident, but completely fell in love with it. So much so that my family ended up moving to Maine!  I'm hoping to get up there sometime this summer. Maybe I'll see ya then! Dallas C.
Ps -The pictures of the open gates at Ripogenus were just amazing.


May 3rd, 2005
At one point there were 3 deep gates open at Ripogenus Dam.  I was talking with one of the dam tenders and he said that each gate was letting over 2600 cubic feet per second out of the lake.  With 3 gates open that means for each minute that the gates were open there was, are you ready for this, about 3,541,140 gallons of water being dumped.  I went out and took some more pictures, it is always amazing when there is that much water in the Gorge.  Last night they shut down all of the gates, in just a short time all of that water just stopped.  The lake is still full and more rain is coming with the chance of snow as well.  I have to contact NOAA about that.  They can stop forecasting snow anytime now. I figure that the only reason that it keeps snowing is because they keep forecasting it!  But then again, it may be that the old timers are right, you have to get the snow out of the air before it can warm up!  The Telos road has been patched a bit so it is now possible to get past the washout at Harrington.  I am sure that will make many people happy to be able to get through again.
GT


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